Government is the people, laws, and officials that establish and enforce the rules and regulations for a country. It is concerned with what happens in public life, although many of the laws that it makes can also regulate what occurs in private life. It is important to understand that a government’s primary goal is to protect citizens’ rights and safety. In addition to protecting these rights, a government should provide a certain amount of economic freedom so that people can make their own choices about how to live.
Governments come in all shapes and sizes, but most of them follow a basic set of rules that are set down in a document called a constitution. In the United States, the Constitution outlines the three branches of government; the legislative branch (congress, senate, and House of Representatives), the executive branch (the president, vice president, and cabinet), and the judicial branch (the Supreme Court and other federal courts).
Historically, most governments have been monarchies or dictatorships. While these types of government have some advantages, they are not ideal for modern democracies because they do not allow for true checks and balances, which ensure that no one branch has too much power over the entire country. In a democracy, the legislative branch decides what laws should be made, the executive branch implements those laws and oversees the national budget, and the judicial branch interprets the law. This creates a system of checks and balances, which is more effective than having just one branch of the government make all decisions.
The founding fathers of the United States were very careful to design a system of checks and balances when they formed the nation. They knew that if any one branch of the government had too much power, it would have the ability to do things that were not in the best interest of the citizens. To counter this potential problem, they designed a system in which the legislative branch could check on the actions of the executive and judicial branches, preventing them from becoming too powerful. This is called the separation of powers, and it is an important part of our democracy.
Legislative: Congress makes the laws of the land. They also decide how much money the nation should spend on its citizens, and they can raise taxes and tariffs to pay for those services. If they are not able to raise enough money, they can borrow money to cover the shortfall. They can also make laws that direct the executive and judicial branches to use their resources in certain ways. These laws are known as earmarks and must be approved by the Senate before being implemented.
Executive: The president, vice president, and cabinet carry out the laws that Congress passes. The president can also issue executive orders that have the force of law. The executive branch is also responsible for appointing Supreme Court justices, judges of appeals, and district court judges. The judicial branch evaluates these acts and makes sure that they are constitutional.